To Infinity and Beyond
by thor-you-oaf
Summary: After failing to complete the mandatory hours of community service to graduate, Dean is given the option to use the summer break to mentor a new student with Asperger's Syndrome. Meeting Castiel and the Novak family begins to change Dean in a way that he never thought was possible. In the end he wasn't changing Castiel's life, Castiel was saving his.
1. Chapter 1

Dean Winchester sat on a hard plastic chair just outside of the principal's office. His leg was shaking and he kept glancing around the main office, all too often pausing to sneak a peek at the secretary who would glower at him in return. Wringing his hands in his lap and chewing on the inside of his lip, Dean unconsciously was a nervous wreck and he had every right to be because inside the door a few inches away having a meeting with Mrs. Steinbeck was his self-appointed Uncle Bobby. He wasn't quite sure what was being discussed in there but he knew that it couldn't be good if Bobby was here; that always meant trouble.

_I'm not failing my classes and I haven't gotten in any fights. If this is about the incident under the bleachers yesterday, it was all Sarah Russo's fault; she's the one that flashed her tits, _Dean thought to himself with a frown, but he knew that it couldn't anything like getting suspended. First of all, he'd been purposely trying to stay out of trouble lately. Sammy was looking up to him and Bobby had ripped him a new one when his little brother had punched a kid in the gut last month. Secondly, he knew he wasn't being suspended because this was the last week of school. What could they do to him, anyways?

Sighing heavily, Dean leaned back against the chair and stared at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face. School. It was such a waste of time anyway. With only a year left until he graduated, Dean knew that he wasn't going anywhere after high school. While his classmates were already talking about college and moving away, Dean was expecting to work full time at Bobby's garage here in Lawrence. Besides, he would never think about leaving Sam, especially not for school. He wasn't going anywhere in life, that was just a given.

The door creaked open and Dean looked up as Bobby stepped out and beckoned for him to come in. He swallowed thickly and stood up to follow him in; this must have been important if they were including him in on the conversation for once. As he slowly shuffled over to one of the chairs at the desk, Dean quickly went through his mind and tried to think if he really had done something wrong but came up with nothing.

"So, Dean," Mrs. Steinbeck said pleasantly, a smile plastered to her face as she leaned forward onto her desk. "Your father and I have been discussing something that we'd like to share with you."

Dean perked up, swelling with pride when she called Bobby his father. He sat up a bit straighter and nodded fervently for her to continue on.

"We think it would be best if you joined the military," Mrs. Steinbeck said bluntly, and Dean's jaw dropped in surprise.

"What?" He exclaimed, his heart suddenly racing as adrenaline took over. He looked at Bobby for an explanation but saw that his uncle was wearing an amused smile and had a twinkle in his eye.

"No, I'm only messing with you, Dean," Mrs. Steinbeck said with mirth laced in her words. Dean sighed in relief and placed a hand on his heart.

"You had me there for a minute," He confessed, shaking his head as the shock wore off.

"I ain't sending you off to the military, boy. I'll whoop you a good one if you even think about enlisting," Bobby said with a smile, although there was a warning tone to his voice and Dean knew he wasn't joking.

Mrs. Steinbeck waited a moment before taking back control of the conversation. She knew Bobby Singer well and remembered the first day she'd met him. It was just a week before Dean's first day of high school and Bobby had come in to introduce himself to her and ask for a meeting to discuss a personal issue. Since then, they'd meet once or twice during the school year when Dean did something that rendered a suspension or such. In the end, she knew that Bobby Singer was probably the best thing that ever happened to Dean, and his younger brother that she would be meeting the next school year.

"It has come to our attention, Dean, that you haven't completed your community service," Mrs. Steinbeck said eventually, nodding towards a stack of papers from various students. "As you know, it is mandatory for you to work a certain amount of hours to graduate high school. Ten for freshmen, twenty for sophomores, thirty for juniors, and forty for seniors and it all adds up."

Dean instantly slumped in his seat with a distasteful expression on his face. He hadn't done a single hour of community service and nor did he plan to. Each year they were given a list of different choices they could attend such as volunteering in a nursing home or a dentist office but nothing had ever sounded appealing enough for him to want to forgo hours of his life to help and now it was finally catching up to him.

"And you're a damn liar for saying it wasn't mandatory, you idjit," Bobby added in, giving Dean a look.

"You have one hundred hours of community service that needs fulfilled and unfortunately you're not going to be able to complete it all by next year," Mrs. Steinbeck continued on. "So I'm going to give you another option, one that I sincerely hope you won't refuse."

"Of course," Dean agreed instantly, desperate for any chance to escape serving coffee to old people.

Mrs. Steinbeck paused for a moment before speaking again. She wasn't having second thoughts about this; after all, she and Bobby had been discussing it for a week. She just worried about how Dean was going to take it. In all honesty, community service wasn't the real reason they were gathered here today. There were several students who never bothered with it and they still graduated, but it was the perfect excuse. The real issue was Dean's lack of a social life outside of the few girlfriends that he'd had. As far as any of them knew, Dean had no friends. Bobby insisted that he had two friends, but they didn't live around here and that didn't help. They were both a bit worried about how he was going to fare in life without anybody on his side.

"Recently a new family has moved to Lawrence and a few of the kids will be attending here after summer break. However, one of the boys has some…_issues _and his guardians feel that he would benefit from having a friend before the school term begins. Instead of your uncanny amount of community service hours, Dean, I'm going to give you the option of being this boy's friend until graduation," Mrs. Steinbeck said hesitantly.

Dean frowned lightly and tilted his head curiously, "What kind of issues are we talking about here? Is he retarded or something?"

"Watch your mouth, boy," Bobby snapped, whacking him upside the head.

"What? I was just asking!" Dean exclaimed defensively, rubbing his head tenderly. Mrs. Steinbeck sighed and shook her head; she was all too used to their interaction.

"No, he is not _retarded_ and you will refrain from using that term again, young man," She said with a stern look to Dean, who at least looked sheepish. "Have you heard of Asperger's Syndrome, Dean?"

He wanted to ask if that was the term for babies who were dropped on their heads and turned out a bit awkward, but knowing it would only get him in trouble Dean settled for shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

"Well, as it has been explained to me, Asperger's Syndrome is on the autism spectrum but not quite as severe. People with the syndrome often have difficulty communicating with others and making connections. This can render them defenseless to cruelty in everyday life. Do you understand where I'm going with this?" Mrs. Steinbeck asked seriously, staring at Dean expectantly.

Dean nodded.

He understood crystal clear. They wanted him to be this kid's body guard for the school year and since he did sort of have a reputation for being tough, the job seemed easy enough. Besides, it was better than spending two hours a day at a nursing home where it smelled like death or a dentist's office where kids had biting issues.

"So basically when school starts I'm gonna walk this kid to and from class. Sounds easy enough," Dean said with a smile, clapping his hands together and leaning forward, ready to leave and go home.

"Not quite, kid," Bobby said, and Dean was a little surprised to see the serious look in his eyes.

"Like I said, you can't complete one hundred hours of community service in the nine months of your senior year. You're going to be spending a couple hours a day with him starting this Friday when school gets out for the summer," Mrs. Steinbeck said with a short smile.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean groaned, running his hands over his face exasperatedly. "Alright, fine. I'll do it. How old is this kid anyway?"

Mrs. Steinbeck grinned triumphantly, pleased that he'd agreed.

"Castiel is just a year younger than you are, but I'm sure you'll get along well. Oh, and Dean? By no means will you tell him that you're only hanging out with him out of obligation. If you do so even by accident, the consequences will be severe. Do I make myself clear?" She said seriously.

"Crystal," Dean muttered, standing up to leave.

Just as they were exiting the office, Bobby turned for a moment to send a wink to Mrs. Steinbeck. The plan had worked and he could only hope that it held out. In the end, both of these kids were going to get something they severely needed: a friend.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yes, I understand. Thank you for all the help, it is much appreciated. My family looks forward to meeting him soon. Good day," Michael Novak ended the phone call and stared down at the screen of his cell phone. That had been the principal of Lawrence High School informing him that she'd found a willing student to aid his younger brother, Castiel.

It had been a week since he'd moved the family to the small town in Kansas and he was hoping that this was going to work out. The family had been through hell and back and right now they all needed some peace and quiet and Lawrence seemed like the ideal place to start a fresh life and leave the past in the past. He just hoped that his siblings would understand his reasoning for moving them without their consent. In the end, though, the decision was not theirs and since he was sole guardian of the kids, Michael's word was law.

"Who was that, Mike?"

Glancing up, Michael saw his twin brother Lucifer standing in the doorway of their bedroom watching him curiously.

"That was Mrs. Steinbeck, the high school principal. One of the senior students has accepted the task of being Castiel's mentor. She said that he'll be over Friday around two to meet everyone," He explained, tucking the cell phone back in his pocket and heading towards his brother. He beckoned Lucifer to follow him back downstairs where he could hear his siblings quarreling over the television.

"That's great but are you sure this was a wise idea? Gabe and Anna will be there with him," Lucifer said hesitantly, glancing into the living room where their younger siblings were. Gabriel and Anna were tumbling around on the floor, wrestling for the remote, but Castiel was sitting on the couch watching them with a blank expression on his face. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.

"Yes, but Castiel needs to make friends," Michael said softly, pausing at his brother's side. Lucifer hummed in agreement and moved to head towards the kitchen to start on dinner.

"Let's just hope that he never finds out that you're basically paying someone to be friends with him," He said lightly, heading to the fridge and pulling it open. It was well stocked thanks to himself, having gone to the grocery store earlier so they didn't have to eat take out for the third time that week.

"I am not paying anyone, Luce," Michael insisted, although deep inside he knew that it was the truth. Whoever had accepted the task was going to get extra credit or a letter of recommendation to a college; that counted as bribery and payment and Castiel would be crushed if he knew.

Lucifer said nothing to his brother and pulled out a pound of ground beef to make tacos for supper. He wasn't entirely on board with the idea of sending Castiel back to high school and if he had it his way, he'd continue homeschooling his youngest brother as he had been for this past school year. But he knew that it wasn't fair to keep Castiel locked away at home and not experience life as any other kid his age. After all, Castiel could function perfectly well in everyday life.

"Luci, Gabriel bit me!" cried out Anna from the living room and Lucifer paused at the stove where he was browning the ground beef and sighed tiredly. If any of his siblings couldn't function in everyday life it would be Gabriel.

"Then hit him or something, I don't know," Lucifer called back. Three seconds later there was a screech and someone made a mad dash up the stairs for safety.

Michael chuckled and shook his head, pulling out taco shells and laying them on a cooking pan to be put in the oven. He loved the interaction between him family it always gave him a sense of security that everything was alright. They may not have been the most normal family around but as far as he was concerned their unconditional love for each other was all that mattered; that and the fact that they all held strong through thick and thin.

"So," Michael said, starting up a new, more positive conversation. "Anna and Gabriel's report cards should be posted online by now."

"We're lucky that their teachers allowed them to take their exams last week or else we wouldn't have been able to move this past weekend," Lucifer commented, vaguely wandering if the two had actually been studying for those exams just to get out of having to help pack boxes; he'd never seen Gabriel study before then.

"I suppose so," Michael agreed, moving around his brother to stick the shells in the oven. "We also need to find a new family pedestrian and dentistry around here because they need their shot records updated to transfer. Oh, and I want to take Anna to the eye doctor before school starts. Her literary teacher emailed me awhile back saying that Anna has been squinting when she looks at the board."

"You know if the kids didn't have insurance we would be screwed. I swear they have more doctor visits, dentist appointment, and random hospital trips for broken toes than any other kids I've ever met," Lucifer replied with a roll of his eyes and Michael hummed in agreement. Their siblings were rowdy as a pack of bulls, but they didn't quite live up to the trouble he and Lucifer had gotten into when they were younger.

"Michael, Lucifer," came a soft spoken voice from the doorway. The twins both looked over and saw Castiel standing there watching them, his hands fiddling at his sides.

"What is it, Cassie?" Michael asked with a smile, beckoning their brother over. Castiel obliged and stopped at his side and Michael wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. "What's up, baby bro?"

"May I go for a walk before dinner?" Castiel asked, staring at his brother intensely.

"Cassie, we'll be done in a few minutes. Why don't you wait until after dinner and we can all take a walk together?" Lucifer suggested, turning off the stove as he reached for the can of tomato sauce. Castiel shook his head stubbornly and shrugged Michael's arm off of him.

"Gabriel would ruin the peace and quiet that I want. Not to mention, Michael walks slower than a turtle. I'm sorry for saying that Michael," He said, sending his older brother a not so apologetic look; Michael merely shrugged his shoulders not offended. "I'll just take a quick walk around the block once or twice. I need some fresh air; it's too hot in here with you cooking. Anna smells funny. I'm sorry, Anna."

"Screw you, Castiel!" Anna yelled from the living room, stomping upstairs.

"Watch your mouth, Anna Marie Novak!" Michael called out to her, only to be answered with the sound of a slamming door. Castiel looked at him with a slightly distressed look and Michael sighed lightly and ruffled his hair. He knew Castiel hadn't meant to embarrass her but he did have a point. Anna was hitting puberty and neither he nor Lucifer quite knew how to have _The Talk _with her about her changing body and the fact that she needed to start wearing deodorant.

"Go ahead, Castiel. Be quick and get back before Gabriel eats all the tacos," Lucifer said, nudging Castiel towards the back door. He waited until he saw Castiel sprint across the yard to the sidewalk before turning to his brother. "Do you want to talk to her or should I?"

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Michael suggested with a hopeful smile, but Lucifer gave him a look. "Why do I always have to have these conversations with them?"

"Because you're the oldest," Lucifer replied with a grin.

"By three minutes, that hardly gives me philosophical advantages," Michael retaliated, sticking his tongue out at his twin.

Exiting the kitchen, Michael headed for the stairs and descended up to go comfort their sister. He wasn't quite sure what to say to her, to be honest. Either way it wouldn't matter. He wasn't a woman and she would not want to talk to him about this or anything else regarding personal matters. At times like this he wished that their mother was still here to give Anna the attention she needed as a growing girl – to give them _all _the attention they needed that he and Lucifer couldn't provide. Big brothers hardly made up for fathers and mothers.

As he neared the end of the hallway, he paused outside Anna's room when he heard Gabriel's voice coming from inside along with sniffled undoubtedly from their sister.

"Don't be upset, Anna. You know Cassie didn't mean it like that," Gabriel was saying in a soothing voice. Michael discreetly peeked into the room and saw Gabriel sitting on the bed next to Anna, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"He's so annoying sometimes! Why does he always have to point out stuff that everybody else turns a blind eye to? Yesterday while we were outside he told me I had hairy man legs!" Anna vented, a fresh wave of tears spilling over. Gabriel resisted a smile and even Michael had to cover his mouth before a giggle escaped.

"No he didn't, Anna. He said that your legs had hairs on them like his did and you know what? They do," Gabriel said bluntly and Anna glared at him. "That's just a part of growing up, sis. Your legs and under pits and, er, _other _areas grow hair. So, shave! No big deal. And your pits are smelly? Simple, just wear deodorant. All girls do it, Anna. They even sell nice flowery and fruity scented ones. I'll buy ya one of you want."

"Do I really smell?" Anna asked curiously, wiping away her tears.

"I'll tell ya a secret; girls don't smell gross like guys do. You smell like roses, just like your shit does," Gabriel announced with a grin and Anna looked at him skeptically. Michael shook his head but did not dare think about going in to interrupt them.

"Alright, then will you really buy me deodorant?" Anna asked hopefully, and Gabriel nodded solemnly.

"I promise and I'll even buy you a razor too, if you want," He promised, holding out his hand to make the deal permanent. Anna paused for a moment but took his hand and shook.

In that moment, Michael realized that he had just missed a major moment in his sister's life and Gabriel had taken responsibility for him. A seventeen year old had just given a girl the shaving and deodorant talk _and _managed to make it non-humiliating.

_I'm buying that kid a bag of Starbursts, _he promised as he headed back downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks, my two reviwers, for the reviews! I was beginning to think no one was reading this, so I appreciate that you took the time to leave a note. And Miss Katie, well, everyone in general, please let me know if I write Castiel outside of the general range of Asperger-ish characteristics. I don't want to upset or offend anyone so if I write something that bothers any of you, please let me know and I'll be sure to fix it. Now, please enjoy the next chapter!_

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><p>"Judging by the tone of my sister's voice and the fact that she said a bad word and slammed her bedroom door I've come to the conclusion that I have upset her. I must apologize immediately before she decides to ignore me for a week again. I do not appreciate when she does that and my feelings get hurt. The conclusion: both our feelings get hurt when I upset her."<p>

The sun was beginning to slowly descend behind the trees lining the horizon, casting a multitude of orange and pink colors across the sky that reminded sixteen year old Castiel of cat vomit. Although it was rather warm outside, there was a nice breeze that gave the late June evening the perfect feel to it and Castiel was very glad to be outside walking. This was his favorite time of the day when he felt most relaxed but after the incident back at home he couldn't enjoy his time alone.

"Michael said that Anna is going through puberty, just like I did when I was thirteen except it's different for a lady. Anna is going to be emotional and cry a lot and so I should be extra nice to her," Castiel reminded himself as he walked along the uneven sidewalk. He glanced around at the surrounding area, trying to memorize the houses so that he could venture further the next day without getting lost.

The new neighborhood was quiet and peaceful, filled with old houses both big and small. Some were a little shabby and some were nicely kept with flowers lining along the trim of the front porches. Lawrence was a new territory and Castiel looked forward to exploring every inch possible. It was a breath of fresh air here compared to their old town and he was thankful for the move.

"Anna likes chocolate so I should buy her a candy bar as means of apologizing," He continued to speak, pausing at the corner of the block. He glanced around and spotted a small liquor store two blocks over and a light went off in his head. Although he had promised his brother's to only walk around their block, apologizing to Anna was more important and the liquor store would definitely have chocolate.

He sprinted across the street and jogged the rest of the way until he reached the small building with a glowing sign that said open. Pushing open the door, the bell overhead jingled and the man at the counter peered over at him with a suspicious look on his face. Clearly he was under the impression that it was another troublemaking teenager trying to scam some alcohol or steal something on a dare. But Castiel just sent him a nod as a way of saying that he would behave and headed over to the display of candy. There were Snickers and Twix, Take 5's and Milky Way's, but Castiel wasn't entirely sure of which type Anna would enjoy the most.

"I'll buy one of each, just in case. I'll give her one now and save the rest of them in case I hurt her feelings again. Anna will be emotional and cry a lot so it is inevitable that I will upset her sooner or later," He said, grabbing each of the candies.

"Whoa, you must have really pissed off your girlfriend if you have to buy that much chocolate. That, or she's on the rag," said some kid behind him with a laugh. Castiel turned to peer at him with a frown.

"Anna is not my girlfriend and nor is she "on the rag". Anna has only just begun going through puberty and I would not know if she has begun her menstrual cycle yet as I am her brother and she would not relay personal information to me. I have upset her and now I must apologize with chocolate so she does not ignore me for a week and hurt my feelings," He explained bluntly and the boy stared at him strangely.

"Right, well, yeah. Okay. I can understand that. When my friend Jo hit puberty all she did was cry and eat chocolate. Then her face exploded with pimples and she used to make me buy her ice cream as if I were her boyfriend or something," The boy said with a grin.

"Should I buy Anna ice cream when her face explodes with pimples?" Castiel asked in a confused tone and the boy laughed and clasped him on the shoulder.

"Nah, not unless she makes you," He said good-heartedly.

Castiel nodded slowly as he digested the new information. Clearly Anna was going to be a hot mess, as Gabriel would put it, for quite awhile. He just hoped that he wouldn't do anything else to offend her but that happened whether or not he meant to.

"Thank you for the advice. I have to pay for these and go back home before Gabriel eats all the tacos," Castiel explained, heading towards the counter and the boy followed him.

"Shoot, don't I know it. My little brother Sammy is on a growth spurt and eats just about anything. Ate my damn hamburger, the little punk," He said and Castiel's mouth dropped as he stared at him in shock. "What? What'd I say?"

"You said a bad word," Castiel whispered as he dumped the candy on the counter. The cashier gave him a strange look and then to the boy who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I did. Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. What's your name, anyways? I don't think I've seen you around here before," He said.

"My name is Castiel Novak. I live on West View lane. My brother's names are Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel if you need to call them. Their phone numbers are – " Castiel began to recite, just as he'd been taught to do. He didn't see the point in any of it, though.

"Whoa, now. I just asked your name, kid. Castiel, huh? I like it. Much cooler than Dean."

Castiel nodded slowly as he dumped a five dollar bill to pay for the candies and accepted the bag in return. He was a little surprised when he was followed out the door.

"I will assume that your name is Dean. It is nice to meet you, Dean, but I must be getting back home before it gets any darker out. I don't want to get lost. Goodbye," Castiel said abruptly, turning to leave without another word. As he started walking down the block, he began to rehearse what he was going to say to Anna when he got home.

"Anna, I apologize for upsetting you earlier. I did not mean to hurt your feelings for pointing out your body odor. I realize that you are going through puberty and will be emotional and cry a lot. Please take this chocolate…"

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><p>Dean stared down the street at the boy named Castiel, a small grin tugging at his lips.<p>

"Well, I'll be damned," He muttered, chuckling under his breath as he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Castiel Novak, the sixteen year old that he was supposed to spend the summer with. It was sheer coincidence that they met and Dean was honestly surprised with the turn out. Castiel was _nothing _like he'd imagined him to be after the meeting with the principal earlier that afternoon. He had sort of been dreading having to give up hours of his summer to some kid that he didn't even know, but after that short conversation, he was sort of looking forward to getting to know Castiel.

_That kid is his own kind of special. I like him already._

Friday couldn't come soon enough.


End file.
